Erdogan backs down on threat to expel western ambassadors
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – On Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan retreats over the expulsion threat against the ten western ambassadors, who called for the release of civil activist Osman Kavala, who was charged with a failed coup to overthrow the government.
This came after the United States and several of the other concerned countries issued identical statements saying they respected a UN convention that required diplomats not to interfere in the host country’s internal affairs, which were then welcomed by Erdogan.
“Today the same ambassadors with a new statement turned back from their defamation of our judiciary and of our country, I believe from now on they will be more careful about their statements regarding sovereign rights,” Erdogan said in a televised address after a cabinet meeting.
Last week, ten countries: the USA, Germany, France, Finland, Canada, Denmark, Norway, New Zealand, Sweden and the Netherlands, released a joint statement calling for the release of Kavala who has been jailed since 2017 without a trial.
The next day, Erdogan summoned the ten ambassadors and said it is an “irresponsible statement” and that Turkey rejects the so-called “pressures on the Turkish Judiciary”.
The Turkish government rejects the European and the US appeals to release Kavala saying Turkey does not accept any interference in its internal affairs.